Storytelling

Sharing The Gospel With Passion And Power

Martin Goldsmith

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781783591558
• eBook ISBN:
  9781783591572
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christianity

We all love stories.
In a world where people are often hostile to the good news, telling stories is an ideal way to communicate the gospel warmly and winningly. Those who would never listen to a sermon or a gospel presentation are often enthralled by the same message told as a story.Of course, that's just what Jesus did in his parables. Our Bibles are filled with stories that communicate deep truths in a moving and powerful way. But how can we, too, use the power of stories to get gospel truths across in fresh ways, and to teach biblical truth in memorable and life-changing ways?
Martin Goldsmith discovered early in his career as a missionary that stories were the most effective way of sharing the gospel - especially in places where evangelism was illegal. But, since then, he's discovered that they are also often the best way of sharing it with our neighbours in the West, who are suspicious of religious truth and hate being preached at.Full of colourful stories from a lifetime of sharing the gospel, this book shows us how to do the same. The author demonstrates how the Bible teaches its theology through story, and how other faiths are shaped by their storytelling - giving us a deeper understanding of how we can reach others and teach real and significant truths in an enthralling way.If we want to win hearers for the gospel in today's world, it is vital to become compelling and persuasive tellers of the gospel story once again.

1. The first challenge

The little Saiburi harbour in South Thailand snuggled peacefully in the darkness as the stickily hot sun gave way to the glory of the huge tropical moon. The long, elegant fishing boats with their outboard motors rested quietly in the shelter of the port’s stone wall. Dr Gordon Gray and I knew that in the light of day the boats would display brightly painted sides with particular shapes and designs. A special Muslim shaman claimed the spiritual gift of determining the particular occult design which was ordained for each boat, but we had never been able to penetrate the wall of dark secrecy which lay concealed behind the boats and their attractively colourful ­decoration. When I had asked the shaman about the painting of one new boat with which he was involved, he had quickly changed the subject and all conversation immediately dried up.

The moon cut a swathe of light across the dark waters of the China Sea, and the rows of palms beyond the port stood out as silhouettes against the almost orange moon. Their fronds swayed and rustled gently as the faintest of breezes fanned the air, which still maintained something of the day’s stifling heat. But the ocean rested like a millpond, stretching out darkly towards the east. Nevertheless, a regular chain of minute waves lapped the sandy water’s edge, adding their peaceful music to the whole atmosphere.

It was in this context of soft beauty that Gordon Gray and I strolled contentedly along the seashore. In those days before air-conditioning, the relative cool of the evening came as a relief at the end of a busy day’s work in the hospital. As a fairly new missionary I felt deeply privileged when Gordon invited me to walk with him that evening. I was excited at the prospect of having time with him all on my own. What would we talk about? I had so much to learn from Gordon and was eager to take on board anything he would share with me from his rich years of experience. Yet I never realized that what he said would influence me for the rest of my life. I certainly never thought that it would inspire me to write a book on the subject! My interest at that time in my life rested exclusively on the work of mission in South Thailand. But later I was to discover how Gordon’s advice to me that evening would also relate to witness in Britain and other countries.

With the onset of globalization, almost every place has become fascinatingly multi-ethnic and multicultural. In Britain this process began back in the 1960s and 1970s. The Beatles started the fashion of following Indian gurus and introducing Western forms of Asian religions. Fifty years later, Britain has not only absorbed multitudes of Asian people with their background cultures, but their Eastern religious patterns of thought and communication have also infiltrated into the very heart of British life. Asian patterns of telling stories are now useful in communicating the Christian faith in Britain and the rest of Europe.

Gordon Gray was known throughout the region for his brilliance as a doctor and surgeon. His fame in that area was particularly enhanced through various skull operations. The hospital received several patients whose skulls had been split open by falling durians, a large local fruit with a thick hard skin covered in fierce arrow-like thorns. When walking through a durian orchard, it was vitally important to avoid being directly under a tree in case a heavy over-ripe fruit, the size of a rugby ball, fell on your head. In the durian season the whole countryside was filled with the pungent odour of this amazing fruit, whose smell resembles a noxious mixture of rotten eggs and an unflushed lavatory plus any other strongly unpleasant odour you might imagine!

On one unforgettable occasion, a young woman came to the mission hospital after an accident with her fishing boat’s outboard motor. Her long hair had got caught up in the propeller. Its swirling blades had ripped off the top of her scalp.

‘What is your problem?’ the nurse had asked her on her arrival at the Outpatients Department. In answer she said nothing, but quietly lifted the severed scalp off the top of her head. The nurse on duty nearly fainted in horror. Could anything be done to help her after such a terrible accident? Gordon Gray was called immediately, and operated on her with complete success. No wonder his fame spread throughout the region and people were heartfelt in their gratitude. They knew they were very privileged to have such a doctor in the mission hospital which they considered to be their hospital.

Local people often told me, with voices filled with admir­ation, that Gordon spoke both the Malay language and Thai absolutely perfectly. When people heard him talking, but could not see his white skin, they were convinced that he was a local man.

It was always a special joy when he was able to free himself from his medical calls to share in our daily hospital ward services. He would play his piano accordion, joining in with us in singing Christian songs. And then the patients would listen with rapt attention as he told biblical stories about the prophets and Old Testament characters whose names were known to our Muslim friends. They particularly loved his vivid renderings of the New Testament stories of Jesus. Gordon’s warm friendliness and open humour won people’s hearts as his humble smile made them feel at ease. Hearing the gospel clearly and directly from Gordon himself added considerable weight and credibility to what we said. As we witnessed from bed to bed among the inpatients and from person to person in the outpatient queues, we could feel the significance of Gordon’s witness for Jesus.

I had only been living and working as a missionary in Asia for about a year, and language study still played a major role in my life as I grappled with the local Malay dialect. Despite my inexperience our leaders had asked me to work as the hospital evangelist among the Malay people, who were Muslim and largely unevangelized.

The indigenous population in the provinces of South Thailand were almost entirely Malay and Muslim, but the towns were occupied by Thai Buddhist business people and district officials. They of course spoke Thai. There was also a sprinkling of Chinese people who ran businesses and small wayside cafés. They spoke a wide variety of Chinese languages, so the area resounded with a rich multitude of languages. In the mission hospital, I worked together with Minka Hanskamp, a slightly older and more experienced Dutch woman who was responsible for working with Thai-speaking patients. Each morning Minka and I met for prayer together, asking that God would work by his Spirit and bring Malay and Thai patients to a committed faith in Jesus.

Later Minka was sadly taken captive by extremist Muslim rebels, based in the jungle-clad mountains, who were fighting for independence. Most of the Muslim population were warmly friendly and by no means religiously fanatical or violent. But this small minority in the mountains spread danger and uncertainty throughout the region. As our mission held firmly to its policy of never paying bribes or ransoms, there was little hope for Minka’s life. Tragically, she was held for nearly a year and then martyred. Her grave in Saiburi next to the old hospital still reminds us today of the challenge of willing sacrifice in mission for Jesus Christ.

I cannot remember what Gordon and I talked about on our pleasant stroll in the relative cool of that evening. But one sentence still stands out vividly in my memory: ‘If we want to communicate effectively with Malay Muslims, we shall have to learn to tell stories.’

His words struck home as if God had spoken directly to me with an audible voice. I knew that I was being called to change the whole format of my witness and preaching. Since then, I have gained some experience in using stories among Muslims. When I returned to Britain, I discovered that here too storytelling is enormously effective among Muslims. Then I came gradually to realize that the practice of storytelling is useful in all our Christian witness and in teaching the good news of Jesus in every continent, culture and religious background. God speaks through stories, and people often remember stories for many years. Children, of course, love to snuggle into the loving arms of a parent or other relative or friend on the sofa while they listen to a story. But we all enjoy an interesting story.

In this book I plan to share some of what God has ­graciously taught me about telling stories, not only in Asia, but also in Britain and in other very different contexts around the world. And what fun it is to communicate the good news of Jesus through stories! I hope and pray that readers of this book will gain the courage to start telling stories – perhaps at first in the safety of our own home with those we know and trust, but then more widely with friends, neighbours and people we work with.

Question:

• Has anything someone else said to you changed the course of your life in some way? Pray that God will use something you say to set someone else’s feet on a new path of loving and serving the Lord.

2. Telling stories and influencing minds

Up and down the country, people watched another tragic story on their televisions – the struggle of a man with an incurable and painful illness. He could no longer do anything at all for himself, and in his absolute impotence felt like an intolerable burden on his wife and family. Personal dignity had long since evaporated. In even the most basic things – eating, washing, going to the toilet, using a handkerchief when coughing or sneezing – he was utterly dependent on his carers. There was not the slightest hope of any alleviation of his suffering, let alone a cure. There seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel except the relief of death.

The programme pointed out that this man longed to die, but his desire for death was frustrated by the law which at present forbids euthanasia. Even if he could persuade his wife or his doctor to administer some injection to bring about his death, this was illegal and they would be guilty of murder. The only possibility seemed to lie in going all the way to Switzerland, a more tolerant and sympathetic country where euthanasia has been legalized. He could then visit a clinic which specializes in helping people like him to bring an end to their lives. But in his condition the journey to Switzerland was no simple matter. How would he manage the flight with all his disabilities? And financially could he and his family afford it? The television programme implied that it is unjust that only wealthier families can manage the expense of travel­ling to another country, where euthanasia is possible.

Such stories move people’s hearts, but the strong arguments against legalized euthanasia are seldom mentioned in such programmes.

This is a fictitious case, unrelated to any similar story on TV news. But from time to time we see stories of this nature on TV and the implications are clear – we are made to feel that the law on euthanasia needs to be altered. As we watch, we find ourselves naturally sympathizing with the fearful suffering of the terminally ill patient. Any sensitive or loving person will long for some relief to be made possible for them. One’s heart goes out too to the family members who share their loved one’s agony and as full-time carers may find their own lives severely restricted.

Such agonizing stories play a vital part in forming people’s views on many an ethical problem. In a democracy a groundswell of public opinion has a significant influence on our lawmakers in parliament. Indeed the political debate on such topics is often based on such extreme, heart-rending stories. One such story can sway public opinion and stop people even considering an alternative view.

As Christians we also need to learn to move people’s hearts and minds through telling the story of one particular person in such a way that it tugs at people’s heart strings. Of course our story will need to be backed up by rational argument and biblical teaching, but we aim to move hearts as well as minds. Christian organizations involved in care for the needy already practise this, as do Christian ecological and environmental movements. But evangelistic and church missions may still have much to learn in this.

‘Soaps’ and other drama programmes on television and radio are also used to inform and form public opinion. Useful teaching can be imparted through the portrayal of the various characters and the storyline. So, for example, from its outset the radio series The Archers set out to convey practical teaching on aspects of village life, health issues and encouragement to grow your own produce.

Thanks partly to the influence of stories in the media, drink-driving has become unacceptable to most people. Tales of the danger of drugs have also been told – but sadly this has failed to penetrate deeply into people’s minds. Sometimes stories depicting health issues or ecological matters are aired, percolating into our consciousness. On the negative side, angry words and unhappy relationships have been shown in dramas as a normal part of life. Does this just reflect the realities of contemporary society or is it actually forming people’s behaviour?

Of course popular thinking, political debate and the making of law must not only depend on such cases. Statistical research, for instance, should also be used to support an argument.

For example, the euthanasia debate needs rational dis­cussion about its rights and wrongs as well as clear-thinking argument concerning the consequences of a change in the law. How would it affect other frail old people? Would it expose them to undue pressure from greedy relatives who might be waiting to inherit and may therefore put pressure on the old person to hasten his or her death? Many old people are tempted to feel that they are useless and therefore could in a moment of weakness or depression prematurely sign away their life. And thought must also be given to the fearful pressures which members of the medical profession would face if they had to determine whether it was right to hasten death by euthanasia. The forming of law must never depend only on individual stories.

Nevertheless, in our postmodern world stories play a major part in forming people’s opinions – including in parliament. This is true even when rational debate joins forces with the more subjective influence of personal stories. Christians in everyday witness need to get in on the act.

We have given the example of how a story can be used by the media to change people’s beliefs concerning euthanasia. The same is equally true for the debate on same-sex relationships and abortion. In its strong support for equal rights for same-sex couples the media often introduces the story of a loving, faithful couple whose experience will win the approval of all who watch or read. It will not tell of same-sex couples whose relationship is torn apart unhappily. The media will not mention that the statistics for the breakdown of same-sex unions are even worse than for divorce among heterosexual married couples. The media also never informs the public concerning the medical problems associated with homosexual sexual union or the grave dangers of legalizing euthanasia.

Likewise with abortion it is stories of young women in desperate need which are told in order to move our hearts and push us into supporting a lax approach to the subject: not those who get rid of a baby for their own convenience. It may even be considered unacceptable to discuss publicly the medical and psychological consequences of having an abortion.

As with euthanasia, so also with other issues such as abortion and same-sex couples’ rights it is stories that play a leading role in forming public opinion and therefore influencing our lawmakers. As Christians we will do well to add a live story of an actual situation to our more theoretical arguments. We need to learn in our evangelism and Christian teaching to make more use of stories, for it is often these which move people’s hearts and minds. Like the media, we should not be afraid to use quite emotive stories – but we should be careful not to manipulate people through exerting excessive emotional pressure. As witnesses to Christian values which alone can bring true happiness and love, we long for our message to win the hearts and minds of our nation.

Jesus himself did much of his teaching through short, snappy stories from everyday life. For example, he told of a woman with ten coins. She lost one. She didn’t just rejoice in the remaining nine, but searched everywhere until she had recovered the lost coin. Such a story brings home to us God’s call to witness and evangelism in a much more pertinent way than an abstract exhortation to witness. Plain biblical teaching without stories can become somewhat dull and ­uninspiring without living stories to enliven it.

As Christians we long for the good news of Jesus to grip people’s minds and hearts, bringing a new popular movement towards the Lord and his church. This may come about more easily if we capture their attention through personal stories. The example of the media and of our politicians should move us to try declaring our faith through such emotionally gripping stories. This must affect our understanding of Christian truth and the way we express our beliefs to those around us.

God works through stories

‘Che’ Sof! Che’ Sof!’ I heard the Malay man’s cry across the hall in Saiburi, South Thailand. But it didn’t occur to me that it had anything to do with me. I was visiting some twenty years after I had worked there and had forgotten the Malay name people had given me. Somehow the local form of ‘Mr Joseph’ had felt fitting.

The man rushed across the hall and greeted me warmly as a long-lost friend, but I had no idea who he was.

‘You came to my village years ago and told us the story of Jesus,’ he exclaimed excitedly. ‘You even showed us how the stories of Jesus fit into how Allah created the world, how Adam and Eve fell into sin and what Allah was doing in this world century after century.’ He beamed at me and told us how he had turned from Islam and become a follower of Jesus. ‘It all made such good sense,’ he continued, ‘and I couldn’t get all those stories out of my mind. So finally after quite a struggle I gave my life to Jesus and received his salvation.’ As we talked further, he shared how in Islam he could never work out how the world moved on from creation to the coming of one prophet after another. But the story of the Bible with its climax in Jesus Christ had captured his heart.

During my short time of service in Thailand I had not known of any Muslim becoming a Christian, so his story all those years later was deeply encouraging. But I realized that he was the only Christian in an area full of Muslim villages. Through the Bible story, with its message of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection, this Muslim man had not only been converted, but also kept safe as a follower of Jesus for twenty years despite constant pressure to return to Islam.

But Gordon Gray’s advice to tell stories is true not only for South Thailand, but also for the West today. Storytelling has become such a major element in contemporary com­munication that people have even invented a new word – ‘storying’. As Christians in our world of existentialism and post­modernism, with their emphasis on what is actually happening now rather than rational arguments, it is vitally important that we learn to tell compelling stories if we want our views to be heard. A purely rational debate will no longer win the day. An objective presentation of truth may sound both somewhat boring and also old-fashioned and out of touch with the modern world. We live in an era which is deeply suspicious of rational argument and even of scientific truth. Subjective stories not only hold people’s attention more easily, but they are also the culturally accepted method of communication. If we want to relate to our contemporary culture and society, we shall have to listen to Dr Gordon Gray’s advice.

Narrative theology

In this chapter we shall be looking at how our Christian theology and our basic beliefs are shaped by an underlying story. So often in the past, stories have been thought fit only for children in Sunday schools, while expressions of an adult Christian faith should be abstract and theoretical. For example, no serious theological book could teach Christian truth through stories. No academic thesis could be presented with stories as its main content. As a result, there is a danger that for some people the very word ‘theology’ implies lifelessly dull and boring theory. Contemporary narrative theology has begun to bring theology and biblical commentary to life again. It is of course vitally important for the whole future of the Christian faith and church that its teachings should be dynamic and alive. Narrative and stories lie at the heart of this struggle.

Storytelling is also pragmatically effective in the communication of the good news of Jesus. Through stories we can win attention and give our message wide circulation and acceptance. Already in South Thailand I observed how people not only enjoyed my stories and listened with rapt attention to them, but also often went home afterwards to their housing area or village and told them to their families and friends. In this way stories related to the gospel spread more widely to people I would never have met. And surely local men and women told my stories much better than I did – they were probably more gifted than me at telling stories and they certainly knew the language much better. In Britain too, people go home after hearing a story being told and say to their family, ‘Such an interesting thing happened to me today. I was in the office and one of the salespeople told us a really unusual story.’ They may then retell it.

But the telling of stories is not only a pragmatic issue or a question of cultural adaptation in cross-cultural mission. In the history of the Christian church, biographies have always been highly significant in shaping Christians’ spiritual lives. Already in the first centuries of the Christian church, stories about the great heroes of the Bible inspired Christians’ love for the Lord. And the experiences of Anthony and other Egyptian desert fathers joined with tales from the Syrian desert and biographies such as Augustine’s Confessions. In later centuries Christians were deeply influenced both in the practice of their faith and in their beliefs by the stories...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. The first challenge
• 2. Telling stories and influencing minds
• 3. Stories in other faiths
• 4. Biblical patterns of teaching
• 5. Using Bible stories in evangelism
• 6. Adapting other people’s stories
• 7. Teaching by parables
• 8. Different cultures tell stories in different ways
• Conclusion
• Notes